COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Amazing Spider-Man #699.1
Writers: Joe Keatinge & Dan Slott
Artists: Valentine Delandro, Marco Checchetto
Let’s get it out of the way – no, this is not essential reading in as far as Dying Wish is concerned. Seriously, if you’re not interested in the character of Morbius, feel free to skip this one.
Without going too much into spoiler territory, the comic begins with Morbius breaking out of his prison cell during the chaos caused by Doc Ock’s escape in Amazing Spider-Man #699. The entirety of the issue is spent looking at Michael Morbius’s origin, and is the #0 for January’s new Morbius ongoing.
I’m not terribly fond of Morbius, so this issue didn’t really do much for me. That said, writer Joe Keatinge does a terrific job of providing an adequate set-up for the blood-sucking scientist’s eponymous title. Since the entire issue is essentially a flashback issue (perhaps more of a #-1 than a #0, if you will), don’t expect any significant developments here aside from the issue ending with Morbius on the run, which is pretty much the premise of the new title. This is a story that arguably didn’t need to be told this early; however, I understand Marvel’s need to drum up interest for Morbius (though this definitely isn’t the first – or even second – time the character has starred in a comic book). The art is decent, but nothing to write home about. It also doesn’t help that, aside from a few panels, Spider-Man is hardly even in this comic.
I definitely won’t be picking up Morbius in January. However, for people who will be, this is a good place to start if you don’t want to dig through old issues of Legion of Monsters or the first volume of the Morbius ongoing from the ’90s. This is probably Marvel’s delayed answer to DC’s I, Vampire title, which was launched during its New 52 company-wide reboot.
VERDICT:
2/5 (as a book under the Amazing Spider-Man banner)
5/5 (as a prelude to the Morbius ongoing in January)
As I’ve said, get this only if you’re interested in reading about a vampire that doesn’t sparkle.
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